Maya weavers and textiles have long been romantic subjects for scholars and
collectors. Both A Century of Color: Maya Weaving and Textiles and Splendor in
the Highlands: Maya Weavers of Guatemala, videos by Endangered Threads
Documentaries, situate Maya textile production within two distinct forms of
romanticism. In the former longer documentary, Maya textiles are presented as
under threat and in danger of disappearing. In the latter shorter documentary,
Margot Blum Schevill narrates, "Maya weaving and Maya weavers are alive and
well today." These perspectives can be taken as positions to stimulate interest
in and promote action to help keep Maya textile production vibrant.

Both documentaries share a number of characteristics. They explain continuities and
changes in Guatemalan textiles along with some technical aspects of weaving or
other techniques related to the production of textiles. They are filled with
beautiful images of the Guatemalan highlands, Mayas dressed in splendid
clothes, and footage of weavers practicing their craft. Each ends with a
summary of the content that was presented. Despite the somewhat parallel structures
and common themes, the two documentaries do not duplicate each other.

A Century of Color traces continuities and change in
textiles. It uses the Gustavus A. Eisen 1902 collection as a starting place,
but it also makes romantic connections to the Maya past. The Eisen collection
is the most extensive early collection of Guatemalan textiles and features
primarily clothing for daily wear. It is housed at the University of California
at Berkeley's Phoebe Apperson Hearst Museum of Anthropology.

The filmmakers take good care to situate contemporary Guatemala weavers within
contexts of poverty and the history of violence against Mayas. In addition,
they explain that these political and economic conditions and changes,
including the resale of used factory-made clothing from the United States
threaten both Maya weavers and their products. They also warn in various places
in the documentary that cultural traditions that support weaving are disappearing
and that this is contributing to the disappearance of Maya weaving in
Guatemala. Such observations about the perils faced by Maya weaving are
debatable, however, it is certain that Maya weaving is changing.

The film's strength is that it emphasizes that Maya textiles—their production and
styles—have always changed. The filmmakers do a fine job of illustrating how
and why Maya weavers have developed new techniques for weaving and innovated
new styles, while their products remain distinctly Maya. There are plenty of
examples of weavers from dozens of communities using a variety of looms. Changes
in materials are discussed, such as how loom sticks today are not always made
of wood, but of plastic tubing. Technical aspects, such as the jaspe dying
process, turning the loom, and finishing selvages verses cutting the textile
from the loom are explained to demonstrate the skills of the weavers and
differences in quality.

Differences in textile and clothing styles between communities are also noted. The
filmmakers discuss clothing, item by item, observing that huipiles (blouses
worn by Maya women), are "fine example of a weaver's skill." This contrasts
with the sentiments of many Maya textile collectors by emphasizing that being
in style is important. So often textiles are presented as static, rather than
as fashion that follows trends. New fashions develop from innovative
individuals, generational differences, and the greater flow of clothing among
communities. The filmmakers note that there is a practice of exchanging styles
and learning to weave the designs and styles of other communities. Such
exchanges often lead to new styles that reflect a Pan-Maya fashion sense,
rather than one based on one specific community.

With respect to men's clothing, the filmmakers note that religious changes are
impacting men's clothing, especially in Chichicastenango, and that work and
labor conditions have had a dramatic, negative impact on men's clothing. Only
in a few towns, like Solola and Todos Santos, do men still wear their
traditional clothing.

The filmmakers, using various communities as examples, explain how the traditional
woman's outfit is disappearing item by item. This, however, is contrasted at
the end of the film by a statement that Maya weaving continues, despite
political, economic, and other changes that Mayas face today.

The shorter film, Splendor in the Highlands,
begins with an explanation as to why Maya textile traditions persist today. It
includes a discussion of the impacts of the international market and tourism on
weavers and their textiles, as well as a mention of prices. School is presented
as a distraction, implying that it is incompatible with weaving. This sets up a
traditional-modern dichotomy that is present throughout the film. Curiously,
while some elements of modernity may negatively impact weaving and the wearing
of traditional clothing, tourism is presented as having a positive impact,
allowing weavers to produce for visitors to Guatemala and for international
clients.

It is ironic, however, that the filmmakers do not allow for Maya clothing styles to
be compatible with most modern aspects of Guatemalan life. In fact, Mayas, both
men and women, are wearing new styles that are distinctly Maya in wide,
non-traditional social contexts, sometimes at the expense of being
discriminated against by the politically and economically dominant, but
numerically fewer, non-Maya population.

In this film, different technical aspects are featured than in A Century of Color. It shows how to warp
a loom, for example, emphasizing the skill needed to weave. In addition, the
amount of labor and time needed to weave a Patzun huipil—one of the most
popular huilpil styles throughout Guatemala—is illustrated. It is inferred that
in the labor of weaving other activities are incorporated into the daily lives
of weavers and that weaving itself is a communal activity.

Unfortunately, in either film, there is little said in the words of the weavers themselves. While
much is made of how weavers sit and do the act of weaving, no comments by weavers
about the impacts of social, political, and economic change are given. No
weaver or vendor offers reasons about how used clothing from the United States
or tourism, for example, hurt or help weavers. This distances the viewer from
the weavers themselves, de-emphasizing the role that real people play in the
production and consumption of Maya textiles.

The summary at the end of this film, as in the other, is a nice feature for
classroom use, but both films are most appropriate for popular audiences and
high school students unfamiliar with Guatemala and Maya textiles.

Walter E. Little is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University at Albany (State
University of New York) and Director of the Institute for Mesoamerican Studies. He is the author of
Mayas in the Marketplace: Tourism, Globalization, and Cultural Identity (University of Texas
Press, 2004) and (with R. McKenna Brown and Judith M. Maxwell) ¿La ütz awäch?: Introduction to
Kaqchikel Maya Language (University of Texas Press, 2006). His most recent book, co-edited with
Timothy J. Smith, is Mayas in Post War Guatemala: Harvest of Violence Revisited
(University of Alabama Press, 2009).

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